by Alex Withrow, Times-Mirror
Thursday, Jan. 6
Part of the team that helped find Sage, who was found secure after 32 days on the lam
Carrie Reilly-Greiner had already touched down in Florida when she received a call that would drastically change the course of her holiday season.
On Nov 23, just two days before Thanksgiving, Reilly-Greiner, who was in Florida with her siblings, received a call from Shadow’s Retreat dog boarding facility in Leesburg. Sage, Reilly-Greiner’s 13-year-old Shepherd mix, had jumped two fences surrounding Shadow’s Retreat and was nowhere to be found.
“I was a little confused as to how an elderly dog could jump not one but two 4-foot tall fences, when she can’t even jump 25 inches up into my car,” Reilly-Greiner said.
Officials with Shadow’s Retreat said they were just as shocked as Reilly-Greiner to find that Sage had gone missing.
“We’ve never had any dog jump our fence,” said Carla Robey, who works at Shadow’s Retreat. “We show every dog owner the fence that lines our perimeter and ask them if they think their dog would be able to jump it.”
Reilly-Greiner boarded a plane back to Virginia. Once in Loudoun, Reilly-Greiner, who volunteers with Loudoun County Animal Care and Control, began the necessary motions to find Sage.
“We created a new plan every day,” she said. “A dog tracker identified an area very close to the facility that Sage left from, so we went off that. We had a huge search party, two trackers, dozens of volunteers and their families. The community effort was really quite humbling.”
Despite the countless hours contributed by every Animal Control volunteer and officer on staff, Sage remained lost.
After several days, Reilly-Greiner switched the perspective of her search.
“I became convinced that we needed to change the focus from active search to more of an outreach,” she said. “That’s when we went very heavy with putting up flyers in the area where she was lost.”
But after weeks of snowfall, harsh winds and freezing temperatures, Reilly-Greiner still had no leads.
Then, on Dec 23, Reilly-Greiner received her first message of hope in more than a month. She received a call from a woman who lives in the area where they were searching.
“She told me that her son and a friend had seen a dog matching what they saw on the flyer,” Reilly-Greiner said. “After speaking with her for a few minutes, I knew they had spotted Sage.”
Shortly after 10 am on Christmas Eve, while patrolling near Route 15 and Trail Race Road, Reilly-Greiner spotted Sage feeding on a deer carcass. Despite gentle calls to her dog, Sage did not respond to her owner.
“She didn’t recognize me or my voice,” Reilly-Greiner said. “The wind was blowing against me, so she couldn’t pick up my scent, either. There was no recognition. I was a stranger to her. I called Animal Control, who came out and set up a few humane traps. By 7 pm, no one had seen her.”
After 32 days of no solid leads, Reilly-Greiner was aggravated but inspired by her fleeting moment of hope. Hours later, at 10:30 pm on Christmas Eve, Reilly-Greiner received what she calls her Christmas miracle.
“I got a call from Amy at Animal Control, telling me they had found my baby girl,” Reilly-Greiner said. “It only took me a few seconds to get out the door. Once I was in front of her, a very strange thing happened. Dogs have serotonin in their brains, which makes them act domesticated. And when that serotonin dissipates, as it does very rapidly when a domesticated dog is out in the wild, they revert to survival mode. Once I was reunited with her, I could literally see the serotonin kicking back in. She began to lick me and cry and wag her tail. It was quite a remarkable moment.”
According to Animal Control staff, Sage and Reilly-Greiner’s reunion was heartfelt for everyone involved.
“I honestly don’t remember too much about making that call to Carrie. I think I was in such a state of shock,” said Amy Seymour, who found Sage on her day off. “Everyone, especially Carrie, put so much hard work into this search. And to see Carrie and Sage reunited, it made it all worth it. It was really very special.”
Animal Control Officer Chris Brosan said the reunion was something he’ll never forget.
“Sage had been gone so long, and at her age … you start wondering what her fate is,” Brosan said. “But the moment the two of them were reunited was just incredible. It truly was unforgettable.”
Minutes after locating Sage, Reilly-Greiner called Tom Jones of Ashburn Veterinary Hospital, who opened his doors at 11 pm on Christmas Eve to treat a very malnourished Sage.
“Her lab results came back with her having a very common parasite, which is easily treatable,” Reilly-Greiner said. “She lost 32 percent of her body weight, but she’s getting back on track.
“I rescued Sage when she was 3 months old,” she said. “I know her, and I honestly think I would’ve felt it if she was gone. I wasn’t able to accept that she was gone – I knew she was still here. Owners looking for their dogs just need to follow their instincts. Be realistic and don’t give up.”
A week after her rescue, Sage confidently pranced around the grounds of Loudoun Animal Control, secured by a fluorescent-colored pink leash held tightly by her owner. It was the first time Sage had been reunited with many of the people who spent a month searching for her.
After catching up with Animal Control staff, Reilly-Greiner looked down at Sage, who was standing obediently by her side. As she patted Sage’s head, she said the same thing to her as she did during their reunion.
“Come on, baby girl,” Reilly-Greiner said. “It’s time to get you home.”
Source: http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/dog_lost_for_more_than_a_month_became_loudoun_womans_christmas_miracle123/
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